More than 4 years after personal protective equipment production and inventories crashed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the “new normal” in healthcare supply chains seems to be “uncertainty.” Although hospital margins are improving and patient volumes are trending upward, “stress fractures continue to remain in place,” says Michael Schiller, CMRP,…

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Editor's Note Although artificial intelligence (AI) applications in surgery “remain relatively nascent,” the technology has potential to significantly impact all phases of surgical care, according to a review article published May 13 in Nature Medicine. “The emergence of foundation model architectures, wearable technologies, and improving surgical data infrastructures is enabling…

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Editor's Note Contrary to previous findings, less-invasive percutaneous intervention combining fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) could be a viable alternative to surgery for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). That’s according to the results…

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Editor's Note A recent trial marks the last hurdle for researchers to request regulatory approval for a noninvasive alternative to spinal surgery, according to a May 20 report in MIT Technology Review. Onward Medical’s ACRex device delivers electrical stimulation to the spinal cord via two wired electrodes placed just below…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the recall of Hologic Inc.’s BioZorb Marker a class 1, indicating a risk of serious injury or death. BioZorb is an implantable radiographic marker used to mark soft tissue (such as breast tissue) for future medical procedures. Provided sterile…

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Editor's Note The largest scale analysis so far available comparing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) to longer-term percutaneous devices for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) supports the comparable long-term safety and efficacy of the latter procedure. According to a May 15 report in Medical Xpress, the findings raise important considerations for valve…

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Editor's Note A joint letter from the American Medical Association (AMA) and more than 100 medical organizations asks Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to confirm that providers do not bear responsibility for legal reporting requirements for information stolen in the Change Healthcare cyberattack, including personal patient data.…

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Editor's Note Only 46% of parents and 33% of teenagers believe receiving the latest COVID-19 vaccine was important, according to survey results presented by at a May 2-6 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in Toronto, Canada.   According to a May 9 Helio report on the findings, the survey is the…

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Editor's Note Designing ORs with a focus on patient flow, room organization, and the needs of surgical teams can reduce burnout while improving workplace positivity and patient outcomes. That’s according to an April 9 report from Mayo Clinic, where researchers recently integrated 3D space capture technology with traditional focus groups…

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Editor's Note The lack of available hearts for transplantation combined with the recent recall of Abbott’s HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) “makes the current therapy landscape for heart failure much more dire,” according to a May 20 report in Medical Device Network. The recall of the device, which…

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